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Mukudzei Chingwere, Herald Reporter
THE United States is keen to improve diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe and is looking at increasing trade between the two nations, US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pamela Tremont, has said.
Ambassador Tremont, who presented her credentials to President Mnangagwa early this month, made the remarks after paying a courtesy call on Acting President Dr Constantino Chiwenga at his offices in Harare yesterday.
The US imposed unjustified and illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe at the turn of the century and has been widely condemned by the progressive world for maintaining this stance.
Despite Washington’s confrontational stance, Zimbabwe has maintained that it does not want frosty diplomatic relations with any country in line with President Mnangagwa’s “friend to all and enemy to none” mantra.
Ambassador Tremont said she and Acting President Chiwenga discussed a wide range of issues, including Zimbabwe’s priorities in sectors like agriculture, education, manufacturing, tourism and how the US was contributing to those areas.
“There are a few companies here already. Of course, we would like to see more. Hyatt (Regency) has just opened in the CBD taking over the Meikles (Hotel),” she said.
Ambassador Tremont said there were a couple of notable US companies in Zimbabwe.
“There is a US investor in mining. John Deere has had contracts here and there are US franchises and so on. There are a few US companies here and we would like to see them increase,” she said.
“Of course, there is a trade gap. Zimbabwe exports a lot more to the US than the US exports to Zimbabwe which is great for this country. We are happy for Zimbabwe in that respect, but obviously more trade is better”.
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Political differences with the West have seen Zimbabwe pursuing its economic development agenda using its own resources owing to an exclusionary stance by some international financial institutions and fund managers.
A thawing of relations between Zimbabwe and the US and the envisaged boom in trade could give further impetus to Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement drive.
In this regard, Ambassador Tremont said she saw potential for an improvement in relations.
“I had a great conversation with the Acting President. We talked about the United States’ long standing commitment to the Zimbabwean people. The US has been the largest bilateral donor and significant contributor of drought assistance this year.
“We spoke about Zimbabwean Government priorities in agriculture, education, manufacturing, tourism and how the US is contributing to those areas.
“We also talked about how we can improve the investment climate to make Zimbabwe a more hospitable environment for US investors and investors from around the world,” said Ambassador Tremont.
In response to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme through which the Government of Zimbabwe intended to reclaim land stolen by white colonialists starting in the late 19th century, the United States Congress passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act in 2001.
This legislation provided for sanctions against the Zimbabwean Government which was put on a credit freeze, specifically through Section 4C titled: “Multilateral Financing Restriction”.
However, some American corporates have over the years, seen it prudent to invest in Zimbabwe and recent examples include John Deere, which is contributing to the mechanisation of the agricultural sector and Hyatt Regency, which this year took over the running of the five-star Meikles Hotel in central Harare.
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